Future of Customer Service

Posted on 29. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

Within the next few years, two-way video communications will be the new cutting edge way of doing business. The banking industry is already starting to deploy “virtual tellers” at branch offices while the retail industry is apparently gearing up to introduce “virtual store clerks.”

This “kiosk-based” form of video communications at bank and retail locations is the prelude to the much larger rollout of fixed-line and mobile two-way video communications, which will ultimately bring this new form of communication into the privacy of our homes. Obviously, there are still hurdles to overcome before video communications becomes commonplace. For one thing, there’s still the basic problem of not enough bandwidth on our last-mile networks.

Then there is the simple fact that most consumers do not have video phones or even video cameras and microphones connected to their PCs at home. Perhaps more importantly, there is still a question of how many people really want two-way video communications whether actually seeing the person you are speaking with offers enough value to the consumer to make the cost of rolling out IP video communications worth it.

However, with the major wireless service providers of the world working in concert with the handset makers and aggressively rolling out video capabilities on their next generation networks, we are no doubt getting closer to the day when two-way video communications will become a reality. As advanced new mobile devices (i.e., videophones) come onto the market, and consumer demand for them increases, it only makes sense that the call center industry will follow suit.

Farther down the road there’s the potential for using IP video for a wide range of customer service and support operations, which people can access from their homes. For example, one day an agent in a tech support center will be able to “show” a consumer who just bought a new computer how to load some new software, or perhaps troubleshoot a set-up problem, right on the consumer’s computer screen.

The ability to “show” a consumer how to do something, in real rime, rather than “tell” them over the phone will no doubt have powerful applications in the future.

Contact Us : Call Centers India
Email : sales@callcentersindia.com
Phone : 206.384.4669

Winning Customer Service Tips for a Virtual Assistant

Posted on 27. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

Copyright (c) 2009 Ann Brown

A virtual assistant is not only the go-to person for their client. A virtual assistant always has to be looking for a way to impress their client and to show their true value. If you just come in and do the basic job, i.e., not doing anything more than you need to and rarely meeting your goals, chances are good that the client will look elsewhere. A virtual assistant needs to have impeccable customer service skills; not only for their client but also for the tasks they handle for their client. What matters?

Listen and Follow Through

The top tasks that a virtual assistant needs to do are these:

- You need to listen to what your client needs and you need to follow through on anything that you say you will do. A virtual assistant needs to fulfill his or her commitment even in less-than-perfect situations. Finding a way to do both is necessary, as it shows that you will do as you say you will.

- Turn in projects on time.

- Be sure to follow directions as provided to you by the client. This will ultimately determine your worth to the individual.

Ask Questions

While asking the same questions over and over again is a sure fire way to lose your VA position, asking questions one time is a great way to grow your knowledge so you can do even better for the client. For example, if working on a data base system and are unsure of how to fill out one field, asking a question about that field allows the client to know you are paying attention. Then, later, you may be able to apply that knowledge to another question you have.

Communicate Timely

It does not matter if you are doing a job for the client or you are dealing with your client, communication is essential. Talk to your client often, letting them know the status of the project. If they ask for a daily check-in, be sure to do that. If they expect you to meet a goal each month and there is a problem in doing so, communicate that problem, too. Communication may be over the phone, over the Internet through email, or even instant messenger. The goal here is to keep them informed, answer their questions quickly, and to respond as needed to problems. It shows your dedication.

What else can you do to ensure that your client is happy and that his or her job goes well? Be honest about problems. Confront issues upfront, before they worsen. Keep your word and do your best with every task. If you are spending too much time surfing the web instead of doing the work they need, eventually they will find out. Instead, do the best you can and your customer service skills will be just what they need.

Isn’t That What Customer Service is All About?

Posted on 26. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

Last week I went to a local pharmacy to have a prescription filled. As I approached the prescription counter I noticed a sign beside the cash register that said, ” Let’s Talk.” Considering it an invitation I said in a friendly, cheery voice, ” OK let’s talk.” and proceeded to say ” How are you today?” The woman waiting on me was not amused. She looked at me in frigid, non-responsive silence and finally said cooly, ” Can I help you?”

It didn’t take a degree in nuclear physics to figure out that she was totally ignoring my humble attempt to be friendly so I too immediately responded to her icy tone with one of my own. I gave her the information regarding my prescription and was told curtly that I was at the wrong counter. I was at the “PRESCRIPTION OUT” counter when I should be at the

” PRESCRIPTION IN ” counter. How silly of me to make such a mistake. Maybe that’s why she was so unfriendly to me. I had committed a huge unforgivable sin in Pharmacy Land.

As I approached the proper counter I once again saw the sign, ” Let’s Talk.” and decided to give the place a second chance. I looked at the lady waiting on me and said once again in an upbeat and friendly tone, ” The other woman who waited on me wasn’t really in the mood to talk so I came down here. So “Let’s talk.”

Again stone cold, icy silence followed by ” Can I help you?” If you can’t beat them, join them so I too became cool, abrupt, assertive and said, ” Mike Moore/ Doctor Quinn/ asthma medication/ repeat required please. She checked the computer and found that I did have 4 repeats left. I told her that I would be in at 10:00 a.m. the next day to pick it up and I left. I know I shouldn’t have responded in kind but I was ticked off at the way a paying customer was being treated.

I wanted to hand the woman my card and tell her that I spoke to companies and organizations on customer relations and would be more that happy to conduct a seminar for their employees on the topic. But I didn’t.

I’m not saying that dealing with the public is easy. It isn’t. In fact it can be very stressful but you can neutralize the stress with a simple smile and a bit of humor. All these people needed to do when I responded to their invitation to talk was smile and say in a friendly tone, “OK. Let’s talk. What can I do for you?”

Simple, easy, effective and it leaves your customer wanting to return to do business with you. Isn’t that what customer service is all about?

Use Customer Service Feedback Results

Posted on 24. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

I have always been extremely skeptical of the value of a customer service survey versus the effort involved, however I have changed my mind.

The whole concept of phoning up 100 or so customers asking them the same questions and then analyzing the results was horrifying!

However, I thought I would give it a go!

Rather than do the phoning myself I paid a third party to do it (a couple of hundred pounds so not a massive amount). I thought this would be slightly abstract and make the results a little more consistent. Importantly I would not get involved in actually trying to solve any issues there and then.

We did one a few months ago and got some really positive results from the questions asked. I decided to publish it on our website and wow! The phones just jumped into action.

You can see the survey on our website, if you have a look at

www.FlatPackAmigos.co.uk

Now it might have been a co-incidence and we might have been lucky with such good results, but our call volumes doubled and I am sure it was related.

I would also say that, if the results had not been great, it would have given us an opportunity to find out why and improve our business. I am going to do it again soon to see whether we have improved, got worse or remained the same!

I’ll write another article when we get the second raft of results, but would recommend you give it a try, it certainly paid for itself for us.

Are There Real Customer Service Jobs at Home?

Posted on 22. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

The work at home field is full of scams. If you have spent much time at all looking online for that perfect work at home job you’ve probably seen far more scams than actual jobs. It’s rough out there.

The reason for this is that it’s so easy to set a scam up and have people fall for it. Websites cost very little and a scam can be set up in just a few hours, waiting for the unwary.

If you want to work at home in customer service there are a few things you need to look out for in order to avoid the scams. There are real jobs out there if you can only find them.

No matter the work at home job you want, be careful about paying when you apply. There are a few legitimate companies that do charge for a background check, a practice I personally disapprove of, but it’s something you can also see in outside the home jobs.

Keep in mind whether you’re applying for a job or starting a home business. You can expect to pay to get started in a home business, but not a job. If you don’t understand which a given opportunity is, take the time to find out. You need to know what you’re getting into.

A real customer service work at home job will have some expectations about your working conditions. If you’re going to be working on the telephone, most likely zero background noise will be tolerated. Get a noise cancelling headset, but also have a quiet room in which to work. If you can only work at night when the kids are asleep, so be it.

The challenge most people find with these jobs is that you get paid by talk time, not by the hour, even when you’re expected to remain available for your entire schedule. At times this isn’t a problem but other times it can be a really big deal. Be prepared to deal with these problems.

Very, very few work at home jobs offer benefits. If health coverage is a big deal for you there will be even fewer companies that will interest you. You will often be considered an independent contractor rather than an employee. This has an impact on how you do your taxes and you may have to file quarterly, depending on how the company handles it.

Most companies do let you choose your schedule, but will expect you to stick with your schedule. This is great in that you have the advantages of working at home and being there for your kids, but just as with other jobs you will have to call in if there’s a problem keeping you from working your usual schedule.

Customer service is a great work at home job for many people. That means it can be very competitive and a little hard to get into. But not impossible. Be persistent, be professional, be prepared to work hard.

Working as a Customer Service Representative

Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

When I first moved to the small town of Belleville, Ont. from the big city of Toronto I was quite taken back by the small size of the town and the lack of job opportunities. For the first few months I became quite distressed until I happened upon a job where I could deal with customers from the States for the company Hewlett- Packard as a Tech Rep/ Customer Service Representative.

The work was quite nice as I could talk on the phone with the customers and then type up the work orders, general inquiries, or complaints. I later received the opportunity to just communicate with the customers through emails and live chat.

That way of communication turned out to be not as efficient I found for more than one reason.

The first problem was the time factor. If you were corresponding with an older person, you could pretty well guarantee that it would add an additional 20 min. type time to get the whole issue understood. Between the slow two finger typing, and the lack of knowledge of the computer system they were trying to correspond with, the call was not going to be a quick fix.

Another problem I found with this form of communication was the lack of anything personable. With the phone chats I had learned American history from a retired army general, cooking tips from a grandma of 15, how to groom a poodle for a dog show, and the temperature of any city in the country I talked to. I looked forward to going to work everyday not knowing what interesting information I would absorb for the day.

I found my sales stats plummeted when I switched to just the Internet communication.

On the positive side though, it is a quicker response time with live chat through the Internet. If you just had a quick question or concern, such as the status of delivery on your new computer, it is the ideal method.

So in conclusion, if I was to offer my advice, I would say a friendly and knowledgeable voice on the other end of the line would get my vote for the perfect form of virtual customer service.

Customer Service And The Heirloom Factor

Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

A couple in Colorado discovered a game they enjoyed. The game was not available in any of the box stores they visited so they conducted an online search one Christmas.

They had first observed the game a year before. They loved the fact that while the game was fun it also provided a perfect tabletop feature for their home adding a unique aesthetic to their home.

As they had remarked positively to their hosts about the game the year before so had many others as the one-of-a-kind game eventually graced their own table. As a family gift to themselves they conducted an online search hoping to find and purchase this unique game.

Their online search led them to a couple in Utah who handcrafted this game. The husband made the board out of the specific wood type of the customers choosing and supplied game pieces that fit their décor or preference.

The wife utilized a toll free number to access the company and was surprised to reach a grandmotherly voice that was profoundly interested in the specific needs of the family. It seems she and her husband make these games and travel to craft shows and other events to sell them. The online store was a relatively new idea for them.

The personal attention this couple received has allowed them to pass along the wonderful experience they had in making the purchase while visitors enjoy the game and the craftsmanship behind it.

I love hearing stories like these because it serves to prove what I have advocated all along – a pronounced dedication to customer service will make it possible for individuals to…

1) Have a positive purchase experience.
2) Enjoy the seed of trust in their dealings with a company.
3) Feel a better connection with the business.
4) Tell others about a wonderful product and the people who produced it.

This couple will say that this game was one of the best gifts they purchased although they had more expensive gifts under the tree.

They may forget the new laptop, dishes or shirts, but they will remember the story tied to the purchase of a game that will remain the center of conversations for holidays to come.

Why? Because the proactive approach to customer service along with a story that can be passed along will make this ‘game’ a potential family heirloom. And it won’t even be because the game is inherently valuable, but the emotional attachment will be strong enough to cause the game to remain cherished for a very long time.

If this all sounds a bit like hogwash think about something you may have in your own possession that contains a story you can easily and readily share with someone else. It could be a gift from your grandfather that contains an emotional attachment that can be shared in the form of a story. It could be a dresser that has been passed down from one generation to the next with one or more stories to share with family.

We all have personal stories we are inclined to share with those who will really listen. As a business owner a personal approach to customer service could provide a story that will make your product cherished and your company trusted.

Customer Service – The Disney Way

Posted on 17. Jul, 2010 by admin in Customer Service

The customer service at Walt Disney World in Florida had always
been exemplary. Yet on this occasion, as the new
millennium began, there was something wrong…

We had been there a number of times. Ever since our first trip
there in 1980 – quite an adventure at that time when travelling
from the UK. On that very first visit, my wife was pregnant with
our first child, yet this visit in the year 2000, seemed to show
us how things had changed.

Back in 1980, we bought ‘Disney Dollars‘ a gift voucher
featuring all the stars of the shows. There were three
denominations and we brought them home and had them framed, back
and front.

In 2000, we wanted to add to our collection with the souvenir
millennium ones, yet left it to our very last night to make our
purchase.

Imagine our disappointment when we went to Guest Services at the
bottom of Main Street to hear that the $10 voucher was being
only sold in EPCOT, as a ‘trial’. Not being one to give up on
this, I wished to register my complaint and asked for a senior
manager, only to be told that there was no-one about.

So I then asked for the name of the manager at the most senior
level in Disney World, but again, I was told just to write to
Customer Services and I was given an address in Florida.

That wasn’t good enough for me, so I suggested that I would
write to Michael Eisner in Burbank, California, where Disney’s
corporate head office is. I was told by the guest services
representative that, ‘I’d never hear back from him’!

When I got home, that is exactly what I did. And about three
weeks after I sent off the letter, I had a phone call – in fact,
I had two phone calls, because I was out when the first one was
fielded by my wife. In the second 20-minute call (not, I hasten
to add, from Micheal Eisner, but from a nice lady ‘in his
office’), she profusely apologised, questioned me a lot
on the issue that I’d raised and pointed me in the direction of
where I could buy these vouchers by post. It was a detailed
enquiry, so that ‘we can learn from your experience and put it
right’.

I was impressed.

But not so impressed as I was four months later when I
received a two-page letter from another department, explaining
what they had done to rectify the experience I’d had, in detail,
as well as sending me a full set of the vouchers I’d
wanted in the first place, free of charge.

The Disney experience is one which is well known – in fact the
way their customer service process works has been described at
length in a great little book called ‘Be Our Guest‘ as
part of their Disney Institute offer.

Both these are worth checking out if you want to understand
better how exemplary customer service works, from an
organisation who truly know how to do it